I recently went on vacation, upon my arrival from the airport I went to a shooting range for a few hours with family. Despite flying and shooting my hearing was normal. The next day all of a sudden after a regular anxiety attack my left ear started to feel numb, lost complete hearing, intense fullness with a sort of guitar flanger like ringing and swooshing. My right ear could only hear certain pitches, when a plane would go by it would sound as if I was listening to it with headphones, and thats all my ear would be able to hear. This was the case for a few days but started to get better, with hearing starting to come back. But as of last night (ten days later) it returned, but now with dizziness, and a hot feeling around my ear with numbness.

I have no clue what is going on, no health insurance, so I am not sure if I want to go to the hospital if it is not serious, or if it is just a common thing that happens. Any suggestions???

NOT a common thing, and YES, you MUST be seen by an ENT (preferably an otologist, or ear specialist), on an EMERGENCY basis.

Sudden hearing loss is a medical emergency. Get to an ENT any way you can, whether via the emergency room or just call up an ENT office and tell them your situation. Stress that it was a sudden loss of hearing (not just a plugged ear) and that it has recurred. Some offices will work with you on payment.

This could be many things but it sounds like some kind of inner ear disease (though numbness does not go along with that). To have the best chance of saving your hearing, get treatment immediately. They may start you on high-dose prednisone. Good luck!

NOT a common thing, and YES, you MUST be seen by an ENT (preferably an otologist, or ear specialist), on an EMERGENCY basis.

Sudden hearing loss is a medical emergency. Get to an ENT any way you can, whether via the emergency room or just call up an ENT office and tell them your situation. Stress that it was a sudden loss of hearing (not just a plugged ear) and that it has recurred. Some offices will work with you on payment.

This could be many things but it sounds like some kind of inner ear disease (though numbness does not go along with that). To have the best chance of saving your hearing, get treatment immediately. They may start you on high-dose prednisone. Good luck!

I lost hearing in my left ear in 2005 the day AFTER I returned from my first tour in Iraq. The ENT doc at the Naval hospital said it was sinus problems. When I returned to my home in Louisiana, I was talking to my then-girlfriend and her family and it just happened that 2 of her uncles were ENTs. They scheduled me an appointment and I went to see him. I was diagnosed with sudden sensori-neural hearing loss. It has a LARGE variety of causative factors, but they could never pin one down...just rule some out. Here I am 3 and a half years later and I'm still about 95%deaf in my left ear. Sometimes it comes back, but usually, if it's coming back, it happens within 3 months. Go to an ENT ASAP!! If yours went away and recurred, it could be a viral or bacterial infection. You can take care of this before it gets too bad and end up with permanent hearing loss. And trust me, it's no fun.

I lost hearing in my left ear in 2005 the day AFTER I returned from my first tour in Iraq. The ENT doc at the Naval hospital said it was sinus problems. When I returned to my home in Louisiana, I was talking to my then-girlfriend and her family and it just happened that 2 of her uncles were ENTs. They scheduled me an appointment and I went to see him. I was diagnosed with sudden sensori-neural hearing loss. It has a LARGE variety of causative factors, but they could never pin one down...just rule some out. Here I am 3 and a half years later and I'm still about 95%deaf in my left ear. Sometimes it comes back, but usually, if it's coming back, it happens within 3 months. Go to an ENT ASAP!! If yours went away and recurred, it could be a viral or bacterial infection. You can take care of this before it gets too bad and end up with permanent hearing loss. And trust me, it's no fun.

I recently went on vacation, upon my arrival from the airport I went to a shooting range for a few hours with family. Despite flying and shooting my hearing was normal. The next day all of a sudden after a regular anxiety attack my left ear started to feel numb, lost complete hearing, intense fullness with a sort of guitar flanger like ringing and swooshing. My right ear could only hear certain pitches, when a plane would go by it would sound as if I was listening to it with headphones, and thats all my ear would be able to hear. This was the case for a few days but started to get better, with hearing starting to come back. But as of last night (ten days later) it returned, but now with dizziness, and a hot feeling around my ear with numbness.

I have no clue what is going on, no health insurance, so I am not sure if I want to go to the hospital if it is not serious, or if it is just a common thing that happens. Any suggestions???

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